


Jealous Aches

by dream_smp_brainrotx



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Denial of Feelings, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Jealousy, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, but thats like half the book, george is kind of a bitch sorry, i apologize in advanced, idk read to find out ig, im terrible at writing angst, maybe cause he has mommy issues, mom friend karl??? yes please, sapnap is a jealous bitch
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:27:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28924311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dream_smp_brainrotx/pseuds/dream_smp_brainrotx
Summary: "You're jealous, aren't you?" George hummed, getting a chuckle out of the dirty blonde boy."Jealous?" Nick laughed."You aren't worth shit."~Clay and Nick have always been the perfect duo. They've been best friends since the 6th grade, picking up their other friends, Alex and Karl, along the way. Everything was perfect in Nick's eyes.Until George came around.George had moved from Brighton as a transfer student in 10th grade, and ever since then, he has slowly been ruining Nick's life. He hated how Clay would hang out with George more than him. Clay was his best friend.Clay was his.
Relationships: Clay | Dream/Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 132





	1. ♤prologue♤

**Author's Note:**

> This is not shipping the irl Nick and Clay, just their online personas (:
> 
> Also, this book will have strong language and dirty jokes. If you dont that, don't read this!
> 
> Other CWs will be put at the start of chapters

The hot summer sun beamed down on Nick's black hair as he stared down at his phone. He was reading a text message from his friend, Alex, to "hurry the fuck up", but quite frankly, Nick wasn't in any hurry since he knew George would be there.

Nick hasn't ever liked George. He felt as if he had moved from Brighton just to torment the Texan boy.

* * *

"Guys, meet George. He's in my math class and he's lonely as shit," Alex announced, jabbing his elbow at the british teen. 

"I am not lonely," George protested, "I'll have you know that I had many friends at my old school!"

"Sure, what did guys do? Drink tea with the queen?" Clay shot at him, making the entire group laugh. 

Nick didn't join in though. He glanced at Clay with a confused look plastered onto his face. He knew that it was hard for Clay to start being joke-y with new people. Nick just stared down at his black leather boots.

"Nick, is something wrong?" Karl asked, being the self proclaimed mom of the group.

"I'm just not feeling too well. I think I'll just head home," Nick told the group.

Before anyone could protest him leaving, he dashed home with feelings of confusion and envy filling his body.

Once he got home, he laid in his messy bed in his disaster zone of a room, with dirty plates and empty water bottles filling his desk and floor space. He didn't worry about the mess, he was more worried about what was going on.

Why was he so upset when Clay was able to get comfortable with George so easily? Shouldn't he be proud that his best friend is becoming less shy?

_"Why the hell do I feel like this?"_

* * *

Nick didn't realize it back then, but he had fallen head over heels for his dirty blonde best friend. No wonder his heart soared every time his best friend's emerald green eyes interlocked with his pansy blue ones. No wonder he felt his throat close up when Clay and George would jokingly flirt or laugh about something and told Nick he "just had to be there" when he asked what was so funny.

"Dude, you're finally here!" Clay jogged up to his best friend with a smile. 

Nick was so zoned out into thought that before he knew it, he had arrived at the park the group had planned to meet up at. 

"Hey Clay," Nick greeted, adjusting his white tshirt that was under a black and red checkered button up. 

He glanced at the tall Floridian's outfit. He was wearing a grass green tank top complimented with a puka shell necklace, along with some black basketball shorts and a light green hoodie tied around his waist. He wore checkered Van's, the matching pair he bought with Nick a year back.

"You look beautiful today," Nick swooned, not knowing what was coming out of his mouth.

"I- Thanks?" Clay replied, a cherry colored blush filling his cheeks.

Nick paused for a couple seconds, then immediately went tomato red after realizing what he had said.

"I- um- Not in like, that way though. I mean you look great, just not like, in that kind- shit," Nick stumbled over his words while fidgeting with the chain attached to his dark grey jeans. 

Just as Clay opend his mouth, George came running towards them, his sunglasses bouncing on his head.

"Get a room you two," George joked, grabbing Clay's wrist and pulling him towards the shaded picnic table Alex and Karl were at.

_"Great job George, you ruined the moment"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! You finished the prologue! Thanks for starting this hellfire of a book (,: Constructive criticism is always welcomed!
> 
> Drink some water!  
> ~Rot♤


	2. ♤friendship and enemy bracelets♤

Nick followed George and Clay into the park, taking in the scenery. It was actually rather pretty. He saw children running around flying kites and playing tag. An old lady strolled by, walking her dog. The sun glistened down on a couple playing frisbee on a small hill. He looked up and down at the giant oak trees shading picnic tables where his friends sat.

 _"Might as well go join them,"_ Nick thought, slowly approaching the table.

Karl and Alex were showing off the friendship bracelets they made for eachother. Alex's was yellow while Karl's was purple. Nick looked down at his wrist. He was wearing a red bracelet that had a panda charm tied to it. The bracelet was worn out since he made it in the 8th grade with Clay at a sleepover. He was rather surprised that it still fit him, considering he had made it so long ago. 

"Nick, come sit down!" Alex shouted, waving the black haired Male over.

Nick hurried up to the shaded area his friends were sitting at. The picnic table seemed at least 10 years old, considering there was a lot of small bits of wood sticking up you could easily give yourself a splinter with. There also seemed to be dark patches on the wood, but Nick had no clue what caused them.

Ontop of the picnic table sat a woven picnic basket. Nick guessed that Alex would've packed it since, despite his loud personality, was the best chef out of everyone in the group. Nick could smell ham and tomato sandwiches, along with some chocolate chip cookies for dessert. There was also a pitcher of iced tea, along with 5 glasses for all of them.

"Hey guys," Nick smiled fondly at Karl and Alex while sitting down. 

"I'm bored, when are we gonna do something?" George complained, still holding onto Clay's wrist. 

Alex started ranting about something (probably about how George complained all the time), but Nick was zoned out, staring at George and Clay's wrists. They also had matching bracelets. George's was a light blue while Clay's was a sea green. They had matching silver charms that were shaped like diamonds.

"Hey, um, nice bracelet George," Nick chimed in, interrupting whatever the hell Alex was going on about.

"Oh, thanks," George stated rather coldly while adjusting his collar that overlapped onto his navy blue sweater, then immediately went back to arguing with Alex.

Nick looked over at Clay, who was fidgeting with his bracelet that paired with George's. The freckled face man seemed rather uncomfortable, but Nick really couldn't seem to put his finger on why. 

"Clay, do you still happen to have that friendship bracelet we made back in 8th grade? Y'know, the one with the smiley face charm on it?" Nick asked while pouring himself a glass of iced tea. 

"Oh. Sorry, but I lost that a while ago," Clay revealed, a sorry look spread across his face. 

"It's alright," Nick croaked. 

Nick could start to feel his throat close up and his eyes get wet. He looked back down at the boy's arms. He saw their matching bracelets and looked at them with awe because of how perfect they were. The pale boy then looked down at his 5 year old bracelet.

He felt a ting of jealousy fill his stomach, making him ache. Tears began to fall down his face and burn his cheeks. He started to squeeze his right wrist, feeling the pain of the bracelet be pressed against his skin.

"Nick, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Karl asked sympathetically, shifiting his body a bit.

Nick looked around at the group. They were all staring at his sorry ass as he cried. Nick sat there for a bit, confused on what to say. He squeezed onto his wrist tighter and felt more tears stream down his face like a river. 

"Are you o-" Before Clay finished his sentence, Nick had stood up and started sprinting towards the parking lot, hiding his face in his elbow so no one saw him crying.

He needed to get out of there.

Before they questioned anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woo another chapter pog! anyway dont except updates often, ive just been feeling super motivated recently.
> 
> ~Rot♤


	3. ♤karl knows♤

Nick stood in the parking lot, tears burning down his face. The sun stood high in the sky, but Nick felt like he could collapse right this moment. The parking lot was quite empty because it was midday on a Wednesday. Nick looked up at the clouds shading the Earth, but his wet eyes made it hard to see anything.

"Nick! Are you okay?"

The Texan boy turned around to the familiar sound of Karl, a small smile beginning to draw itself across his face. Karl ran towards Nick and immediately embraced him into a comforting hug. Nick stood their for a few seconds before hugging the monster energy smelling man back. 

"I'm alright," Nick bluffed, wiping his eyes.

"You don't seem 'alright'. You ran away crying," Karl awkwardly laughed, but quickly stopped. "Sorry." 

"Oh, it's fine," Nick smiled, fidgeting with the bracelet that started this whole mess. He glanced at the slightly taller Male's eyes.

"If you don't mind telling me, why were you crying?" Karl shuffled his feet, waiting for an answer. Nick really didn't know what to say. Where would he even start? Would he start with the fact that he was completely in love with his childhood best friend? Or how he hated George because it filled him with rage and envy whenever he would talk about all the fun he had with Clay without him? Or maybe he'd tell Karl that he has spiralled so far into this pit of love that if Clay rejected him it would crush his soul?

Nick looked up at the sun, as if it would give him the answers to all of his problems. Maybe, just maybe, if he wished hard enough, all of his troubles would disappear. George would still be living in Europe, him and Clay would be the perfect duo again, and life would be good.

But life isn't that simple.

"Where do I even begin?" Nick chuckled, glancing down at the parking lot pavement. 

"Begin wherever you want," Karl reassured, making sure Nick was as comfortable as possible. Nick sighed to himself, awkwardly adjusting his t-shirt collar. 

"Well, I might as well start off with the basics. I'm kind of in love with Clay."

Karl's eyes lit up, then he started squealing like a middle school girl after getting asked out via Instagram dms by a popular boy. 

"No way! You guys would make a perfect couple! Holy honk, you guys are literally the childhood friends to lovers trope! I c-"

"Karl, you're rambling," Nick interrupted his hyperactive friend.

"Sorry, I just got excited," Karl chuckled, adjusting the left sleeve to his neon purple hoodie. 

"When did you realize you loved him?"

"Shit. I think it was about 11th grade whenever he held my hand on the field trip," Nick explained, fidgeting with the chain tied to his pants.

"Oh, was it the carnival one? The field trip you got for perfect attendance?" Karl asked, bouncing on his heels so much they would fall off if he did it anymore. 

"Yup." 

Nick never knew how easy it was to let out these things. Well, at least around Karl. Karl made him feel safe and secure, always making sure he was comfortable and happy. 

"Wait, is that why you seem to not like George?"

"You're practically connecting the dots for me."

Karl and Nick stared at eachother for what felt like an eternity of awkward silence. The two boys could hear the leaves blowing in the wind, and the occasional car zooming by, before the sound of the engine disappearing. 

"That must feel awful."

"What does?"

"Watching your crush spend more time with the person you hate then you," Karl put out bluntly.

"Yeah, it does. I'm just so jealous of George it's crazy." Nick stared down at his feet. It was kind of weird talking about all of these feelings hes bottled up for so long with someone. 

"Look, if you want Clay to know how you feel, just tell him!" 

"But I don't know if I'm ready to tell him."

Karl sighed sympathetically, look at the pale man who's eyes were still red from a deep sob.

"That's completely okay. Tell him when you're ready," Karl acknowledged.

Nick checked the time on his phone. It read 12:51 p.m. 

"I think I'm going to head home," Nick told the brown haired man.

"Are you sure?"

Nick stared off at the parking lot for a bit for deciding. "Yeah. It would be too awkward to go back after having a whole show."

Karl chuckled, "Well, I'll see you later."

Nick waved goodbye to Karl before heading off to his home. 

Maybe today wasnt so terrible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yooo I'm actually kind of proud of this?? Whaaaaat? I know, crazy.  
> School is getting stressful so I may update less but then again probably not because I h have no self control.
> 
> ~Rot♤


	4. ♤hand holding♤

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: this chapter references child abuse and homophobia.

Clay stared at the sun, while not the best for his already bad eyesight, it was his only distraction for the mess that had just happened. Karl had chased down Nick to go and calm him down, so Clay was alone with Alex and George. He didnt know what to say, but it seemed like the other two boys didnt know either.

"Well that was something," Alex laughed in attempts to lighten the mood. 

"He can be so dramatic sometimes," George chimed in.

George's comment stung Clay. It wasn't directed at the dirty blonde Floridian, but he took offense for his friend. 

"I wouldn't say dramatic," Clay defended. 

"Seriously? He ran away crying over friendship braclets!" George snapped back. 

"I feel like he had a good reason to. We aren't as close as we used to be," Clay admitted in a guilty tone. 

George scoffed. "So you're saying it's your fault?" 

All Clay did was nod. He felt terrible for everything that had happened. Clay loved blaming himself for Nick's problems, even if he had no control over them. 

* * *

It was Novemeber of 9th grade. Clay was hanging out with Nick at his house. Anime posters covered his friend's cream colored walls, ranging from Naruto to Attack on Titan. An electric guitar and violin case rested by a desk, along with sheet music spread across the floor. On the desk was a laptop and a green lava lamp. 

"Is there anything you want to do?" Nick asked his best friend, wanting to make sure he was enjoying the time they spent together. 

_I want you to look at me like you look at the girls in our classes._

"Whatever you want to do," Clay smiled. 

Nick grabbed onto Clay's hand as they sat on his bed with the white bed sheets. Clay felt his heart skip a beat and butterflies soar around his stomach. 

"Maybe we can just sit here then," Nick giggled, ruffling his messy black hair with his free hand. 

Clay felt his cheeks burn to a bright pink. Why can't they hold hands like this forever? Nick was straight, so he could only continue these situations in his dreams.

Before Clay's joy could continue, he heard a slam come from his friend's door. Nick immediately let go of his hand. 

"Nick, what the fuck are you doing?" Nick's mother shouted, her arms crossed at her chest. 

"I'm just hanging out with Clay," Nick awkwardly smiled.

"I said you couldn't hang out with anyone until you finished your homework."

"I did!"

"Then why didn't you tell me?" 

"I- Uh-"

"Also, were you holding hands with him?" His mother glared angrily at Clay. 

"N-No!" Nick was clearly nervously, and rightfully so. Clay knew how homophobic Nick's mother was. 

"I didn't raise you to be like this," She boomed.

"Mom, I'm not even gay! Can I not just hold my friend's hand?" 

"Don't back talk me!" Nick was starting to cry. Clay's body was frozen in fear. 

"Mom, please just-" 

_Smack._

* * *

"Hello, Earth to Clay!" Alex said, snapping his fingers at the boy.

"Oh, sorry guys. Just kind of.. Zoned out," Clay apologized, rubbing his neck. 

"Well me and Alex were going to head to my place and play some Minecraft. Want to come with us?" Geroge asked, smiling at the green eyed boy. 

"I can't. I have to help my mom with.. book club," Clay lied in hope they would just let him leave. 

"Oh, alright. Well we'll see you around," George said. 

And just like that, Alex and George were gone. Karl had texted him 5 mintues ago that he had to go run to the grocery store, so it was just him. No picnic, no friends, no laughter, no Nick. 

He had really fucked up, hadn't he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who finally updated? omg ikr its so amazing  
> finally did a chapter focusing on dream and his feelings so now this can actually be considered mutual pining  
> also just know that sapnaps mom isnt actually abusive or homophobic, this is just fiction lmfaooo 
> 
> have a good day/night!  
> ~Rot♤

**Author's Note:**

> Yay! You made it through the prologue! Thanks for starting this hellfire of a book :,) I'm always open to constructive criticism so if you have any advice or critiques please let me know.
> 
> Drink some water today!  
> ~Rot♤


End file.
